The South Bend Tribune reported that Notre Dame agreed to host
San Diego State and Nevada this decade because of the two programs'
willingness to change their respective schedules. ESPN asked Notre
Dame to move its home game with Brigham Young to Sept. 4 and that
set off a domino effect in which the Aztecs had to cancel San Jose
State off the 2004 schedule last week and replace the Spartans with
I-AA Idaho State.

In addition, ESPN elected to televise the Aztecs' road game at
Michigan this season.

"It's a big plus for the Aztecs and we get two games on national
television," said director of athletic development Dave Powroznik,
who doubles as director of football operations. "You can't buy that
kind of publicity. It helps your recruiting the more people see you
across the country."